Smells Like Strawberries
by PhoenixFire2004
Summary: After Tai finds Matt and Sora growing closer, he becomes depressed and finds himself drifting away from the happy couple. Will the return of his old friend Yuki cheer him up?
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

After Tai finds Matt and Sora growing closer, he becomes depressed and finds himself drifting away from the happy couple. Will the return of his old friend Yuki cheer him up?

Disclaimer:

In contrast to popular belief, I don't own Digimon. The story however, except for the part in bold, is mine, along with the character Yuki.

A/N: This takes place in season 2, after the episode "A Very Digi Christmas". I haven't watched that in a LONG time, so I might make some unintentional mess-ups. Feel free to point them out to me in the reviews.

Chapter One

"**Wow! This is so exciting! People are already lining up for Matt's concert." Sora squeaked.  
"Don't worry Sora! We'll be sure to get good seats. Especially when you bring him these homemade cookies!" Biyomon assured her."I hope." Sora said softly. Hearing rapid footsteps approaching, Sora looked up.**

"**Sora, wait up!" yelled Tai, running up to her and pausing a second to catch his breath. Sora's eyes widened in embarrassment as she frantically tried to hide Matt's present.**

"**Oh..Tai." she said timidly.  
**

"**Something smells good!" Said Agumon from behind Tai.**

**Before Sora could say anything, Gabumon came walking from behind the concert building. **

"**Matt's busy getting ready, but I'll take those to him. Mmmmm..." **

"**I bet you will - no way! You'll eat the whole thing yourself!"Biyomon cut in.  
**

"**I resent that! I'm on a diet!" Gabumon retorted.**

"**So... umm... Sora? Are you going to the concert with anybody? I mean... not that it matters to me... just wondering..." Tai said, nervously running his hand through his spiky brown hair.**

"**Er...No, I want to be available in case Matt is free afterwards..."  
**

"**Oh... I see... Matt, huh?"**

**Sora squirmed."It's ok..." said Tai, putting his hand on her shoulder.  
**

"**You're not mad at me Tai?"  
**

"**No, of course not." he said, gently pushing Sora towards the door. " Now get in there and say 'hi' to Matt for me!"  
**

"**Thanks Tai..." Sora smiled.  
**

"**The least you could do is leave us the cookies!" said Agumon.  
**

**Sora laughed. "I'll tell you what. I'll make some special ones just for you."**

**With that, she went in to see Matt, and closed the door behind her.**

After she was out of sight, Tai sighed to himself, then made his way back home with Agumon. It had been a week ago when he first began noticing that Matt and Sora were getting awfully 'friendly' with each other...

.....(Flashback).....

"G'bye mom! See you later Agumon!" yelled Tai, shutting the door behind him. Now that Tai's mom knew about Agumon and became good friends with him, it was easier on Tai to leave him at home with her while he was at school.

Strolling over to Sora's apartment, Tai knocked gently on the door. Usually Sora would answer the door and they would both walk to school together, but this time it was Sora's mom who answered. "Oh hello Tai! Sorry, if you're looking for Sora, she left early today." Tai nodded politely and thanked her.

Continuing on his path to school, Tai wondered why she would have wanted to go to school early but came up with nothing. Upon arriving, Tai went by his locker to drop off some of his books.

"Hey Tai, you ready for that History test?" Joe asked him, with a nervous expression on his face.

"As ready as I'll ever be." he replied , giving a sympathetic look at Joe. The poor guy always stressed himself out so much .

Slamming his locker shut, Tai began walking through the crowded hallway with Joe to class. As they reared the corner, Tai heard a yell, and he recognized the voice as Sora's. Turning towards the voice, he managed to get a glimpse of her through the crowd. He saw Matt behind her, with one arm wrapped around her shoulders, and his other arm trying to reach for a book that Sora was holding out of reach. Tai's face faltered when he saw the two and how happy they looked together– Sora giggling and Matt with his arm around her like that.

"Those two have gotten pretty close since we got back." Joe said, interrupting Tai from his reverie.

Tai could only nod. He waited for her again that afternoon, but it turned out she had to stay for some after-school activities. So he made up his mind to meet her before Matt's concert, to talk to her, but that didn't turn out quite as planned.

......( End of Flashback).....

Upon reaching his house, Tai stopped. Not feeling in a talkative mood, he unlocked the door, took off his shoes, and stepped in as quietly as possible. However, Agumon's yell of "We're back!" put an end to his plans of getting away unnoticed.

"Tai? Back already? I thought you were going to meet Sora."said Mrs. Kamiya, not looking up from what she was doing in the kitchen.

"Yeah, well, she had other plans." he muttered.

"Great!" exclaimed Mrs. Kamiya enthusiastically before handing him a spatula. You can help me make this cake!" ( a/n: I know absolutely nothing on the process of making a cake, so don't try this at home.)

"So, what'd you do today Tai?" Mrs. Kamiya asked while dumping several cups of crushed red peppers into the mix.

"Ah...just hung out with my friends at school, did a little bit of studying, and that kind of stuff."he said, not too interested in the conversation.

"Oh! Speaking of friends Tai, do you remember that little girl Yuki? You know, the one with the pink hair that you used to play with when you were 6 or 7? If I recall correctly, you two were inseparable."

"You mean the one that just upped and left after those weird monsters started appearing in Okiyama?"Tai asked.

"Yeah, I knew you'd remember–Yuki Suzaku! You two used to be best friends in Elementary and always did everything together. Her mom used to babysit the two of you after school and Yuki would come over sometimes."said Mrs. Kamiya pouring the cake in a greased container and putting it in the oven.

"What about her?"

"Well–this is the surprise– I got a phone call from her mom when you were out, and she said they're going to be moving back from the U.S. to Okiyama! Isn't that great? Her dad got a job transfer, so she'll be staying for a while." Mrs. Kamiya said enthusiastically.

"Yep." Tai said.

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I thought you'd be more excited about your old best friend moving back here."said Mrs. Kamiya, looking at Tai quizzically.

"Well it's not like I really know her or anything." said Tai, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"What do you mean you don't know her? She was your best friend!"

"Mom, that was 6 years ago. People change. Especially when they move to the U.S."Tai sighed, knowing his mom wouldn't understand.

"I'm sure you two will get along just fine like before Tai." His mom assured him with a big smile on her face.

"Sure mom." Tai said unemotionally, walking upstairs to his room.

"Tai! Wait! You haven't even tried the cake yet !"

"Er...that's okay mom. I'm not that hungry right now. Kari can have the first try. Just don't forget to put on the icing so that the red things sticking out don't show. That's how real chefs do it, you know."

Mrs. Kamiya smiled. Her little boy knew so much.

After putting his books down, Tai threw himself on the bed, while Agumon went to turn on the TV. A few minutes later, Kari came in. "I'm home!" she yelled, and a few seconds later burst open the door in Tai's room.

"Yess!" Shouted Agumon, as he jumped off the bed and began sniffing at the bag Kari had in her hands. He was soon joined by Gatomon, who was sleeping in Mr.and Mrs. Kamiya's bed just a minute ago. She too began sniffing at the bag. The bag contained food that Kari would usually bring for Gatomon and Agumon every Friday– This time it was onigiri (riceballs).

Suddenly recalling what day it was, Tai sat up also. Tomorrow was the first Saturday of the month, which was when all the digidestined and their digimon got together somewhere for fun. Enlightened by the prospect of seeing Sora tomorrow, Tai laughed and grabbed the bag from Kari's hand and danced around with it above his head, where neither Agumon or Gatomon could reach it.

(A/N: Sorry about having to upload this chapter again. I decided to change the girl's name to Yuki, but from now on it'll stay that way. Nothing's much has happened so far, but if I get a couple of reviews, I'll continue with the next chapter, where Yuki will be fully introduced. )


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Yuki sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes hard, with a frown on her face. The phone had woken her up again the third time that week. Pulling out the covers from her body, she shivered and stepped down into her fuzzy slippers. Sighing, she made a rush to reach the phone before it stopped ringing.

"Hello?" she said groggily into the speaker box, already knowing who it was.

"Yuki? You were supposed to call me an hour ago!" her mom's voice rang out.

"Geez, mom, it's the summer...why do I have to keep waking up at 6?" she replied dully.

"Yuki! We've already been through this...you've already gotten 8 hours of sleep. Anything more than that is not good for your health! And I don't care if your other friends sleep until 12, you don't have to be like your other friends!" her mother scolded, then said in a nicer tone, "Don't forget to eat your cereal, and tea is on the kitchen table. And don't forget to finish your packing."

Yuki just nodded in response, forgetting that her mom couldn't see her and put down the phone .

She opened the pantry and made herself breakfast. Just as she sat down, the phone rang yet again. Getting annoyed, she decided not to answer the phone and let it continue ringing, but whoever was calling wouldn't hang up.

"What?!" she said roughly on the phone.

She then recognized Iris's bubbly voice on the other line. "Yuki! Is that you? Lemme in!" she shouted.

'Okay, so maybe I'm not the only one who wakes up this early..' Yuki thought to herself. "Alright! One sec!" she replied to Iris. Pressing the number 34, she beep-ed her friend in.

Two minutes later, there was a loud knock and Yuki opened the door, not only to Iris, but to 5 other people. "Surprise!" they all yelled.

Taken aback, Yuki stared for a moment before asking "What are you all doing here?"

"Aw shucks Yuki, you know we couldn't let you leave before having a goodbye party first!" said Paul, giving her an enormous hug followed by the rest of her friends.

MEANWHILE..

Tai shut the door behind him and began walking with Kari to the bus stop. He and the digi-destined agreed three days ago to meet at the Jupiter Jazz café. Upon arriving, Tai and Kari were greeted by the rest of the gang.

"Heeeey, Kari, lookin' good.." said Davis with a big grin on his face.

"Davis, this is the same thing I wear everyday." Kari said indifferently, taking a seat next to T.K.

"Where's Sora?" asked Tai, trying to sound casual.

"Sora called me an hour ago and said that she and Matt have to cancel. She didn't say why , but I think there's something going on between those two!" laughed Izzy.

Tai turned away from the group sharply, not wanting them to see his reaction. "I..I uh just remembered, I have an overdue school library book, and...and mom's going to kill me this time if she finds out I got fined for it again. See you all later!" he yelled and ran in the opposite direction, his face burning.

"Since when did Tai even know the school had a library?" Davis joked, but the rest of them had a feeling on what this was about.

Tai headed directly back home, relieved to find the house all to himself. He stayed home and watched a movie on Sunday, and made sure to avoid Sora and Matt as much as he could the following Monday.

(Back to Yuki)

Back on the airplane, Yuki was staring out at the clouds below her She had boarded the plane with her parents 7 hours ago, and soon she'd be in Japan. The food wasn't that bad, and the movie selection was great, but she couldn't wait to get off and stretch her legs. Her mind wandered to Tai, and she thought about what he might look like after 8 years.

It was about 4 in the afternoon on Tuesday, and Tai's parents were waiting on the couch for the Suzaku's to show up. With all the commotion, Tai had nearly forgotten about Yuki, and he didn't have a chance to get her a welcoming present. He decided he would bring her someplace nice in Japan to make up for it.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Tai, who at the time was closest to the door, answered.

The girl was around 5 feet 3 inches tall, with wavy pink hair that fell gracefully about halfway down her back. She wore fitting light blue jeans, and a red sleeveless shirt that matched her eyes perfectly and came up about 3 inches from her jeans. Around her jeans she had secured a black glazed jacket.

"Uhm...hi, c-can I help you?" he asked her, staring at her beautiful face, trying to keep his eyes from wandering....elsewhere.

She stood still with her mouth slightly open in surprise , not sure what to say. 'He doesn't recognize me!' she thought. Thankfully, his mom came just in time. "Ah! Yuki! How wonderful to see you after so much time!"

"And you look so gorgeous!" Mr. Kamiya added, recieving a small glare from Mrs. Kamiya that was only visible to him.

'This girl is..Yu..Yuki?' he thought not realizing the light blush that fell across his face. 'She kinda smells like strawberries.'

( A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I went on vacation, and became kinda lazy when I got back. I'll make an effort to bring out the next chapter a lot sooner. I've already started it anyway )


End file.
